Cult Activities and Psychological Manipulation
Cult Activities and Psychological Manipulation
Cultic activity is all around us and we don’t even know it. People around the world are being psychologically manipulated (brain washed) in these cults and they are not even aware of the control that someone has over them. As I checked out the links on the Ex-Cult Resource Center Website I found some very interesting information as well as the different types of cults, some religious and some not religious. It is sad that manipulation would be associated with religion, but it’s happening every day. There are three kinds of cults. They are secular, religious and universal. The secular definition of a cult is all that is involved in worship, ritual, emotion, liturgy and attitude. This definition actually denotes what we call denominations and sects and would make all religious movements a cult. The Christian definition is any group which deviates from Biblical, orthodox, historical Christianity. e i. They deny the Deity of Christ; His physical resurrection; His personal and physical return to earth and salvation by FAITH alone. The universal definition is any group which has a pyramid type, authoritarian leadership structure with all teaching and guidance coming from the person/persons at the top. The group will claim to be the only way to God; Nirvana; Paradise; Ultimate Reality; Full Potential, Way to Happiness and will use thought reformor mind control techniques to gain control and keep their members. Although all cults are bad, the universal cult is the one that you see in movies and the one that I believe to be the worst. This is really where the mind control comes in. A person is no longer themselves or in control of their own lives. People are stripped of their individuality, their intimacy with others, their finances, how they spend their time, and they have no free will. Because of these abuses, the individual’s personality changes to where they are not even recognized by relatives, they
Cultic activity is all around us and we don’t even know it. People around the world are being psychologically manipulated (brain washed) in these cults and they are not even aware of the control that someone has over them. As I checked out the links on the Ex-Cult Resource Center Website I found some very interesting information as well as the different types of cults, some religious and some not religious. It is sad that manipulation would be associated with religion, but it’s happening every day. There are three kinds of cults. They are secular, religious and universal. The secular definition of a cult is all that is involved in worship, ritual, emotion, liturgy and attitude. This definition actually denotes what we call denominations and sects and would make all religious movements a cult. The Christian definition is any group which deviates from Biblical, orthodox, historical Christianity. e i. They deny the Deity of Christ; His physical resurrection; His personal and physical return to earth and salvation by FAITH alone. The universal definition is any group which has a pyramid type, authoritarian leadership structure with all teaching and guidance coming from the person/persons at the top. The group will claim to be the only way to God; Nirvana; Paradise; Ultimate Reality; Full Potential, Way to Happiness and will use thought reformor mind control techniques to gain control and keep their members. Although all cults are bad, the universal cult is the one that you see in movies and the one that I believe to be the worst. This is really where the mind control comes in. A person is no longer themselves or in control of their own lives. People are stripped of their individuality, their intimacy with others, their finances, how they spend their time, and they have no free will. Because of these abuses, the individual’s personality changes to where they are not even recognized by relatives, they
References: Identifying a Cult. Retrieved from http://www.ex-cult.org on May 20, 2011. International Cultic Studies Association. Retrieved from http://www.csj.org on May 20, 2011.